A good friend asked me this week what the average Gazan terrorist who set out on the morning of October 7 to murder Israeli civilians thought to himself. After all, it was clear to him that the Israeli response would be powerful and aggressive, and that Gaza would be harmed.
So what did he think would happen to his family, to his home?
This question reminded me of the title of the famous book "Why Kamikaze Pilots Wear Helmets." In the education system and in the local media, the discourse in the Gaza Strip is that the other side, the Israeli Jew, is Satan, evil incarnate. Israelis are everything that interferes with the development of humanity in general and of the Muslim nation in particular. Israel, they claim, is a foreign plant, a tool of the imperialist West, which the Jews, who wield great economic and political power, have succeeded in forcing the Western powers to give them a state in the heart of the Arab world at the expense of the Palestinians.
Therefore, when Hamas dehumanizes Israel, when animal terms (zoomorphia) are used in Gaza to describe Jews in general and Israelis in particular (monkeys, pigs, snakes or locusts), the conclusion is that they must be eliminated. Therefore, in this kind of reality, the terrorist does not ask himself, "What will happen to me?" He goes to war against what he perceives as subhuman, a threatening creature that must be eradicated.
In addition, the Gaza generation learns from infancy the value of self-sacrifice, the enormous value of martyrdom (istishhad). The education system – in kindergartens, schools, summer camps and mosques – instructs the children and youth in Gaza that life on earth is worth nothing, and that if they give their bodies and souls as part of the holy war (jihad), 72 models will be waiting for them in paradise. These virgins are a real concept in the eyes of the Muslim believer, which appears in the Qur'an and which in the literature of the legend receives an interpretation that arouses passions and fantasies. And here, when the prize is a world that surpasses all imagination, and certainly the sad reality of this world's life, the terrorist does not think "what will happen to me." It's just like a suicide bomber gets an explosive belt and is sent to die. After all, he knows what will happen to him and what will happen to his family, but the reward for him exceeds the price.
Finally, the question I was asked can also be asked about many cases in the past: What was Napoleon's France, a nation of 30 million people, thinking about conquering Europe? What were 80 million Germans thinking in 1941 when they went to fight some 200 million Soviets? Sometimes ideology, belief in the righteousness of the path, and the charisma of a leader can give people hope that "we are going to win," that "the battle I am part of is the first stage, which will be followed by others and in the end we will win."
As evidence, a survey conducted by Hezbollah's Al-Manar media channel reveals that 91% (!) of respondents believe that "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood is a major step towards liberating Palestine." In other words, this is a rolling move, another stage towards the ultimate goal of eliminating Israel.
These virgins are a real concept in the eyes of the Muslim believer, which appears in the Qur'an and which in the literature of the legend receives an interpretation that arouses passions and fantasies. And here, when the prize is a world beyond imagination, and certainly the sad reality of this world's life, the terrorist does not think "what will happen to me."
If we connect this point to the whole picture, then Hamas's considerations contained several erroneous elements: the expectation that Hezbollah would join the offensive on 7 October north and fight alongside Hamas to the end; And Sinwar's belief that Israeli Arabs will rise up like Guardian of the Walls, and then, under the burden of war on three fronts, Israel will collapse. To these we add the enormous rift in Israeli society and the political crisis, which led to the conclusion that the addition of a military crisis in the form of war would lead Israel to collapse.
Sinwar apparently went into shock when none of this happened. But on the level of the individual, the lone terrorist, even the team, it is quite possible that just before launching the murderous attack, thousands of Nukhba terrorists heard that they were on their way to Al-Aqsa, on the way to victory. And with victory within reach, what are a few difficult months in Gaza?
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